On Friday, March 13, 2026, Heritage Foods Limited officially inaugurated its highly anticipated greenfield ice cream manufacturing facility at Shamirpet, near Hyderabad, Telangana.
This ₹204 crore capital investment represents a massive milestone in the dairy major’s push to diversify its revenue streams, steering away from traditional liquid milk and doubling down on high-margin Value-Added Products (VAP).
Project Blueprint: The Shamirpet Megafactory
The greenfield plant is engineered with Industry 4.0 automation, focusing on maximum throughput with lean operations.
- Initial Output: An installed production capacity of 24 million litres per annum.
- Expansion Ready: The factory has been built over an expansive footprint with massive scalability provisions, designed to expand physical production lines smoothly as market demand spikes.
- Operational Core: Equipped with high-speed automated processing lines, cutting-edge filling/packaging systems, and advanced, real-time quality control labs to guarantee product consistency.
Strategic Rationale: Scaling the Value-Added Portfolio
The inauguration comes at a critical time for Heritage Foods, as highlighted in its latest Q4 FY26 earnings presentation:
- 5X Scale-Up Goal: Heritage Foods’ ice cream vertical currently brings in an annual revenue of ~₹100 crore. The Shamirpet plant is the primary engine intended to scale this vertical 5x over the next 7 to 8 years, targeting a ₹500 crore ice cream portfolio.
- Combating Margin Pressure: In early 2026, severe milk procurement inflation (surging 8% YoY to ₹46.7 per litre) heavily squeezed the profit margins of liquid milk. Expanding into ice creams allows Heritage to convert raw milk into a significantly higher-margin dessert category.
- Surging VAP Traction: Value-added products accounted for 35.5% of Heritage’s total revenue in Q4 FY26. Notably, while liquid milk growth flattened, ice cream volumes surged by 26% YoY, proving the massive consumer pull for the brand’s frozen portfolio.
- Geographical Push: Strategically positioned on the outskirts of Hyderabad, this unit will serve as a core distribution nucleus to rapidly flush premium ice cream lines into expanding networks across South and Western India.
The Quick-Commerce and Premiumization Tailwind
Under the direction of N. Bhuvaneswari, Vice-Chairperson & Managing Director, Heritage is tailoring this plant’s output to feed modern retail channels.
Driven by an explosive 56% YoY revenue growth in e-commerce and quick-commerce channels for the company in 2026, the Shamirpet plant will heavily prioritize premium, impulse-purchase formats (like specialized cones, tubs, and bars) that can be delivered to urban consumers via 10-minute delivery apps.
“The commissioning of our Shamirpet ice cream manufacturing facility marks an important milestone in Heritage Foods’ growth journey. As consumer demand for high-quality ice creams continues to expand, this facility will enable us to scale our operations, introduce innovative products, and strengthen our presence in key markets.” — N. Bhuvaneswari, Vice-Chairperson & MD, Heritage Foods.
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